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AWS EC2 Instance Connect SSH Public Key Uploaded

Identifies when a new SSH public key is uploaded to an AWS EC2 instance using the EC2 Instance Connect service. This action could indicate an adversary attempting to maintain access to the instance. The rule detects…

Description

Identifies when a new SSH public key is uploaded to an AWS EC2 instance using the EC2 Instance Connect service. This action could indicate an adversary attempting to maintain access to the instance. The rule detects the SendSerialConsoleSSHPublicKey or SendSSHPublicKey API actions, which are logged when manually uploading an SSH key to an EC2 instance or serial connection. It is important to know that this API call happens automatically by the EC2 Instance Connect service when a user connects to an EC2 instance using the EC2 Instance Connect service via the CLI or AWS Management Console.

Detection logic

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Detection requirements

Platform
ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Log source category
event_index

Known benign triggers

  • Administrators may upload SSH public keys to EC2 instances for legitimate purposes.

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